A non-racist, unbigoted inquiry into the core teachings of Islam and what it all means (if anything) for non-Muslims

What Makes Islam So Successful?

If you wanted to deliberately design a collection of ideas with the purpose of making one that might eventually out-compete every other religion or political system on earth, you would be hard-pressed to do better than Islam.

Let's look at some of the individual ideas within the collection, keeping in mind that many of the ideas enhance each other. In other words, adding one idea to the others can make the whole collection more effective because some ideas work synergistically.

Here are some of the key components of the package of ideas (or bundle of beliefs) known as Islam (you can see this same list as a linked outline here):

1. A standardized version of the idea-collection is written down. This is something basic to several religions and isn't an Islamic invention, but it is an important factor in the success of Islam.

Something only transmitted orally can change over time, but something written will be identical a thousand years from now, and with modern printing presses, can be reproduced in the millions, giving it an enormous advantage in spreading identical copies of the idea-collection.

Islam has a system of law, called Sharia, and all Muslims are obligated to continually strive to make their government — wherever they are — follow it. Because of some of the other ideas added to Islam, you will see that this political addition to the idea-collection has significant consequences.

5. Permission to spread the religion by war. This is another successful innovation (source). Although some other religions have spread themselves using force, they had very little justification from their own religious doctrines to do so.

Not so with Islam. Expanding by conquest is very much accepted and encouraged by the idea-collection. Islamic teachings present it this way: The non-Muslims need to be saved from the sin of following laws other than Allah's. If they won't voluntarily change their laws to Sharia, then it is a Muslim's duty to insist. The world cannot be at peace until every government on earth follows the laws of Allah.

Mohammad's own experience showed the example — an example, says the Quran 91 times, that every Muslim should follow. At first, Mohammad tried to spread Islam by peaceful means. After thirteen years he'd gained 150 converts.

But then he changed tactics and started using caravan raids, warfare, executions, ransoming captives, and assassination, and within ten years he converted tens of thousands. After he died, his followers used the same tactics and converted millions. And by now it is one and a half billion.

The use of warfare combines synergistically and powerfully with the instruction to create an Islamic state. So Islam spread quickly as their armies got bigger. They conquered and set up Islamic states, most of which have lasted to this day, and the laws within an Islamic state make Islam very difficult to dislodge. The laws also make it very advantageous to convert to Islam.

This is one of the most effective methods ever invented for getting an idea-collection followed by huge numbers of people. It's a method of control and indoctrination similar to those used successfully in communist and totalitarian states. But as you'll discover below, Islam makes unique use of the power of the law to enforce complete conversion to the religion.

Islam started under unique conditions. All other major religions were started within an already-existing state. Islam is an historical exception to this rule.

Any organized government will, of course, put a stop to violent uprisings of a rebellious political group — especially one that wants to wage war and apply its own system of law. Christianity arose within the Roman Empire, for example. If Christianity had been a militant or political uprising, Rome would probably have killed or imprisoned the followers. Probably many military or political religions did start up then, but we've never heard of them. They couldn't get off the ground.

But Islam arose in Arabia when there was no central ruling power. The whole area was comprised of individual tribes. Under those circumstances, conversion by war and the use of force was possible.

6. Lands must be conquered. Lands that Islam has lost must be reconquered (Spain and Israel, for example). The Islamic empire must continually expand. Contraction is bad; expansion is good. So if a land was once Islamic and now it is not, that's contraction, and must be remedied.

7. The idea-collection provides new soldiers by allowing polygamy. According to Sharia law, a Muslim man can marry up to four wives, and he can have sex with as many slave girls as he wishes.

The Quran especially encourages men to marry widows. This is an important idea to add if you are going to be losing a lot of soldiers in war. You need some way of replenishing your army. Otherwise the idea-collection could die out from a lack of offspring. Read more about this principle.

8. It is a punishable offense to criticize Islam. You can see why this one is a good supporting idea for the collection. It helps suppress any ideas that would reduce the authority of Islamic ideas. This idea is in the Quran, and Mohammad set a fierce example of punishing people who criticized him or Islam. Read more about this principle.

Obviously, you can see why this idea has been included in the collection, but this one has actually caused Islam a problem because those who are following Islam to the letter consider more "moderate" Muslims (those who want to ignore or alter the more violent passages of the Quran) to be apostates. Since the punishment for apostates is death, fundamentalist Muslims are fighting modernizing Muslims all over the world, and keeping many rebellious, modernizing Muslims from speaking up for fear of death.

Every time a group of Muslims decides that maybe Islam should be updated for the 21st century and maybe women should have some rights and maybe the government should be more democratic, the devout Muslims call them apostates and discredit them or even try to kill them.

In this and in many other ways, Islam protects its own fidelity (in other words, the original idea-collection cannot be altered).

Another idea in Sharia law says it's against the law for anyone to try to convert a Muslim to another religion.

This does two things: It causes a unity of people across borders which allows the group to grow bigger than any other entity. In other words, the "Nation of Islam" can grow bigger than any country, no matter how large (which gives the group a massive numerical advantage).

11. Dying while fighting for Islam is the ONLY way to guarantee a man's entrance into Paradise. This belief creates fearless, enthusiastic warriors, especially given the Quran's vivid descriptions of the sensuous delights of Paradise.

12. You must read the Quran in Arabic. This unites believers by language, and language has a very powerful unifying influence. For added incentive to learn Arabic, another basic Islamic principle says you can't go to Paradise unless you pray in Arabic.

So Muslims all over the world share a language. This makes it easier to coordinate far-reaching campaigns of protest, political pressure, and war. Read more about this principle.

13. You must pray five times a day. This is one of the five "pillars" — that is, one of the five central practices — of Islam. Within an Islamic state, this practice is enforced by law. Every Muslim must pray five times a day. The practice helps Islam dominate a Muslim's life, filling his daily rhythm with Islam.

It would be impossible to forget anything you deliberately do so often. Five times a day, every day, a Muslim must bow down and pray to Allah.

Islam completely takes over every aspect of Muslims' lives. Not only are they required to pray five times a day, they have to go through a washing ritual beforehand. Islam dictates the laws, and the laws cover many public and private behaviors. In an Islamic state, it is impossible to be a casual Muslim.

14. The prayers involve moving together in time. When Muslims pray, they all face the same direction, they bow down, get on their hands and knees, and put their face on the mat, all in unison, and then rise back up. Again and again.

When people move together in time, whether dancing or marching or praying, it creates a physical and emotional bond between them. That's why all military training involves close-order drill (marching in unison), even though it has been a long time since military groups have actually marched into combat. There is no longer a need for the skill, but military training retained the practice because it is so effective at creating a strong feeling of unity between soldiers (read more about that).

15. A woman is in a thoroughly subordinate position. This idea really helps support other ideas in the collection. If women had too much influence, they'd try to curb the warring. Women in general don't like to send their husbands and sons off to war. But if women have no say in the matter, then the rest of the ideas can express themselves without interference. By subordinating women, the idea-collection prevents their effective vote against war, violence, and conquest.

The rules and laws within Islam that keep women subordinate are numerous. For example, she is not allowed to leave her house unless she is accompanied by a male relative. Under Islamic law, a woman is forbidden to be a head of state or a judge. She can only inherit half of what a man can inherit. In court, her testimony is only worth half of a man's. She is not allowed to choose where she will live or who she will marry. She is not allowed to marry a non-Muslim or divorce her husband. He, however, can divorce her with a wave of his hand. And according to Sharia, he can (and should) beat her if she disobeys him.

16. The only way a woman can guarantee her passage into Paradise is if her husband is happy with her when she dies. When I read about this one, I thought, "Mohammad, you are a crafty one."

This idea obviously helps with the subjugation of women. It gives her a strong incentive to subordinate her wishes to her husband's, because while she might have a chance to get into Paradise if she's a good Muslim, the only way she can guarantee she will go to Paradise (and avoid eternal suffering in hell) is to make sure her husband is happy with her when she dies.

17. Allah gives Himself permission to edit his own work. This is an interesting one. It says in the Quran that if a passage written later contradicts an earlier passage, then the later one is the better one (read more about that). The Quran was written in sections (each section is one of Mohammad's revelations, known as a sura or chapter) over a period of 23 years. The circumstances of Mohammad's life and his religion changed quite a bit over those 23 years.

One of the ideas in the Quran is "this is the word of Allah." People had already memorized his earlier revelations, and it would seem a little strange for the all-knowing, infinitely wise Allah to change something He had already said. But with this idea that later revelations abrogated or overwrote earlier revelations when they contradicted, the newer ideas could be accepted. Allah could edit His work.

As I pointed out earlier, in his first 13 years of peacefully preaching, Mohammad only managed to win 150 followers. But as a military leader and violent conqueror, he was able to subjugate all of Arabia to Islamic law in less than 10 years. The peaceful ways were slow. Conversion by conquering and establishing Sharia was faster and more efficient.

18. The Quran uses the carrot and stick to reinforce behavior. Throughout the book are vivid descriptions of hell, where sinners and non-Muslims have to drink boiling, stinking water, are thrown face down into a raging fire, and have to be there for eternity, suffering endless torments in agony. Read more about this.

There are also vivid descriptions of Paradise. In Paradise, believers wear green silk robes and recline on plush couches. Trees shade them, fruit dangles nearby. Believers have tasty food and refreshing drinks served to them in silver goblets.

But to have a chance of reaching Paradise, they must be devout Muslims. To guarantee it, they must die in jihad (for men) or make sure their husbands are always happy with them (for women).

19. Islam provides a huge and inspiring goal. Leaders of countries, companies, and religions have all discovered that you can get the most motivation and enthusiasm from your followers if you provide them with an expansive vision — an enormous goal. In the Islamic idea-collection, the goal calls for a continuous effort to expand the domain of Islamic law until the entire world is subjugated to it.

Once the whole world is following Islamic law, peace will reign. That's why even terrorists can say with complete sincerity, "Islam is a religion of peace."

The Quran says it's better if non-believers accept Islam and become Muslims without force. But if they refuse, then you must do what you can to at least get them to live by the laws of Allah. Read more about this.

So Muslims have been given quite a mission: To create a one-world government. An Islamic world. World peace. It is an enormous and inspiring and motivating goal, and creates a strong unity of purpose.

20. Non-Muslims must pay a large tax. Once a country is following Sharia law, non-Muslims are given the choice between becoming Muslim or becoming a dhimmi. Dhimmis are allowed to practice their non-Muslim religion if they pay the jizya (a tax). If they convert to Islam, they no longer have to pay the jizya. This obviously creates a practical incentive to convert. Read more.

This is ingenious. The tax takes money away from non-Muslims and their competing religions and gives that money to support Islam. The income from these taxes (usually a 25% income tax) helped fund the Islamic conquests during the first two major jihads. They conquered vast lands, most of them already filled with Christians and Jews, many of whom did not convert at first, and their jizya poured huge sums of money into the Islamic war machine.

Eventually, the numbers of Christians and Jews in those countries dwindled down as they converted or escaped (or in some cases, were massacred), until now, in most Islamic countries, Jews and Christians are very small minorities.

The tax-the-non-Muslims idea helps the Islamic idea-collection make more copies of itself by suppressing competing religions and financially supporting Islam.

Several ideas within Sharia law extend this effect. For example, non-Muslims are not allowed to build any new houses of worship. They're not even allowed to repair already-existing churches or synagogues. This puts the houses of worship of any competing religion in a state of permanent decline.

Also, non-Islamic prayers cannot be spoken within earshot of a Muslim — again, preventing Muslims from being infected by a competing religion. No public displays of any symbols of another faith may be shown either.

All of this prevents the spread of any competing ideas, and makes competing religions die out over time. That's why today there are so many "Muslim countries." Almost every other country in the world is made up of different religions, but because of these principles, Islam tends to displace all other beliefs and cultures wherever it becomes established.

21. A Muslim is forbidden to make friends with a non-Muslim. A Muslim is allowed to pretend to be a friend, but in his heart he must never actually be a friend to a non-Muslim. This is one of the best protections Islam has against Muslims leaving the faith because conversions a new religion are usually made because a friend introduced it. Being forbidden to make friends with non-Muslims helps prevent that from happening. (See Quran quotes about this.)

22. The Quran counsels the use of deceit when dealing with non-Muslims. Mohammad instructed one of his followers to lie if he had to (in order to assassinate one of Mohammad's enemies). This set a precedent, and the principle was clear: If it helps Islam, it's okay to deceive non-Muslims. Read more about this principle here: Lying (Taqiyya and Kitman). And here.

This instruction in the Quran has served Islamic goals very well through history. And it serves those goals today. On the DVD, Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West, you can watch real-life examples of Islamic leaders saying one thing in English for the Western press, and saying something entirely different to their own followers in Arabic a few days later.

Deceiving the enemy is always useful in war, and throughout history generals have used it. Islamic teachings consider Islam to be in a permanent state of war with the non-Islamic world until the whole world follows Sharia law (read more about that here). All non-Muslims living in non-Islamic states are "enemies." So deceiving Westerners is totally acceptable because deceiving an enemy in a state of war is totally acceptable. It is encouraged if it can forward the goals of the spread of Islam.

And so we have the strange phenomenon covered by Steven Emerson in Terrorists Among Us, where organizations in America were ostensibly raising money for orphans, but really giving the money to terrorists. They deceived good-hearted Western non-Muslims into giving money to organizations that were actively killing Western non-Muslims.

As it says in the Quran, "War is deceit." This idea gives Islam a tremendous advantage over idea-collections that encourage indiscriminate truthfulness.

23. Islam must always be defended. This idea is a primary linchpin that gives justification for war with almost anybody, as you'll see in the idea below. After the enemy is defeated, of course, Muslims must establish an Islamic state.

24. Islamic writings teach the use of pretext to initiate hostilities. The Quran devotes a lot of time complaining about people who did not support Mohammad when he first started his religion, with Allah often condemning them to torment in hell in the hereafter. The Quran is intensely intolerant of non-Muslims (source).

Mohammad was somewhat pushy and insistent with his religion, and when others felt intruded upon and protested, Mohammad took that to mean they were trying to stop Allah's holy prophet from bringing the revealed word of Allah to the world, so he was justified to fight them and destroy them as Allah's enemies. This is a demonstration of the principle of pretext.

Non-Muslims of the world need urgently to become aware of this principle. Of all the ideas in the Islamic collection, this is the most dangerous to the West because it removes our natural self-preserving defenses. The use of pretext tends to make the West defenseless against Islamic encroachments. And it tends to make the West confused about how to respond to violent Muslim reactions.

The use of pretext means you need only the barest excuse to begin hostilities. It means actually looking for an excuse, and even trying to provoke others into striking the first blow ("starting" the hostilities).

If the only way to get to Paradise is dying while fighting for Islam, you need hostilities. And if it is your holy duty to make all governments use Sharia law, you need to conquer non-Islamic governments. But you don't really want to look like the aggressor. Appearances count. All throughout the Quran, Mohammad tries to justify his aggression as defending Islam.

The Quran repeats 91 times that followers of Islam should use Mohammad as a model and imitate him. So Muslims the world over try to find or create grievances, so they can recruit new warriors, so they can get a holy war started, so they can fight and die in Allah's cause.

And because of the rise of multiculturalism (respect for all other cultures) in the West, the use of pretext is very effective against people who are unfamiliar with Islam. Many Westerners are concerned that al Qaeda is angry at the West for having troops in Saudi Arabia, for example. That's merely a pretext. They want all non-Muslims out of the Middle East. Then they say they will cease hostilities. It is a ridiculous and impossible goal, so they are justified in permanent war against the West to "defend" Islam.

It's surprising that so many Westerners accept this particular pretext because it flies in the face of a fundamental Western principle: Equality. What Osama bin Laden is saying is, "infidels are so undeserving, their very presence somewhere in Arabia defiles the entire country." Wow. What does that say about the non-Muslims?

Why doesn't this kind of racism or prejudice or infidelphobia (or whatever you want to call it) outrage more Westerners? Instead, many think we ought to pull out of the Middle East so we stop offending these poor Muslims.

The principle of pretext means you try to provoke a hostile reaction and then use the hostile reaction as a reason to escalate hostilities. It's the same method schoolyard bullies have used for thousands of years.

25. The explicit use of double standards. Islam has one standard for Muslims, and a different standard for non-Muslims, which always gives the advantage to Muslims and within a Muslim country, it provides incentives to convert.

For example, Islam must be spread by its believers, wherever they are. But when others try to spread their religions, Muslims are supposed to see it as an aggression against Islam — an act of aggression that must be "defended." Islam must always be defended.

Yet Muslims all over the world protest loudly and violently when anyone in Europe or America resists the building of more mosques in their countries.

Islamic supremacists don't see the irony in it. They don't feel strange having such an obvious double standard. They are, after all, Allah's followers and everyone else is deluded. Fairness and equality with such unworthy infidels would seem very out of place. A double standard seems completely appropriate from that perspective.

The double standard principle is a key part of the idea-collection, and it has been a great advantage in the spread of Islam (and the suppression of competing religions).

26. It is forbidden to kill a Muslim (except for a just cause). It is not forbidden to kill a non-Muslim. This causes a bond between Muslims, fear in non-Muslims, and motivation to become Muslim. This is also another example of an explicit Islamic double standard.

27. If Muslims drift away from Mohammed's teachings, Allah will end the world. That makes converting others and promoting Islam a matter of survival. It also motivates Muslims to prevent each other from losing faith.

28. The message in a standard Quran is difficult to decipher. Whether it was done intentionally or not, the Quran's message has been scrambled and in a sense, coded. This discourages almost all non-Muslims and a significant percentage of Muslims from understanding it.

In what way is the message scrambled? First, the chapters are published out of order in every standard Quran. Rather than printing them using the chronological order in which they were revealed, the 114 chapters (suras) of the Quran are arranged using a baffling method: They're arranged in order from the longest chapter to the shortest. That's the traditional order.

When you read a standard Quran straight through like a normal book, the message is disjointed and the story jumps around and seems contradictory. One very important consequence of this curious disorder is that it hides the clear progression from Mohammad's semi-tolerance of non-Muslims to his violent hatred toward them.

The second way the Quran has been put into code is by putting the key somewhere else. Much of the Quran cannot be understood without being familiar with the life of Mohammad (by reading the Sira and the Hadith). These are primarily about Mohammad — what he said and did.

In other words, the Quran — the source book, the single most important holy book in Islam — can't be understood without the key, and the key can only be found somewhere else, which is similar to one of the ways a message can be written in code: Put the key to understanding the message somewhere else besides including it in the message. This is enough to keep most non-Muslims from understanding the Quran, and also keeps most Muslims on a need-to-know basis. So the only ones who really know what's going on are the imams and the scholars. They call the shots. Everyone else is in the dark.

If the Quran wasn't put in code deliberately, it has been a tremendously fortuitous accident which has served the goals of Islam very well throughout history. Fortunately, someone has unscrambled the Quran for us. Read more about that here.

What should we do with this information about Islam? That's a good question. For some, the solution is to hate Muslims, but that doesn't make any sense. Most Muslims had no choice in their religion, and many of them don't know as much about their own religion as you now do.

I think the best thing any of us can do is to simply help other non-Muslims learn about Islam. Because Islam is so successful, its teachings are becoming more and more influential on the world stage, and some of its built-in aggressiveness should be curbed. But the only way it can be curbed is if enough people know about it. The way we understand Islam will determine what policies we collectively endorse or reject about it.

So first, learn more about it. And then share what you know with others. And let them know what they can do about it too. To learn more, I suggest you first read the Quran. This is the version I recommend.

132 comments:

Thank you. I give presentations to church groups in private homes. I also include lists of web sites. It is interesting and encouraging that with some guidance, people do want to know the threat we are up against and the chains that bind Muslims...

this is getting weird! speaking as a practicing muslim woman who has at many times been disappointed by the chauvinistic anti-women statements of my mullahs,i can assure you that islam is not what you imagine it to be! my family is not strictly conservative,if i had wanted to,i could have easily stopped practicing islam if ever any of my queries about the religion went unanswered!living in the world i do i have had to face up to many questions about islam,and every time i've managed to find a true answer beneath the layers of vitriol narrow-minded scholars use to confine the role of women in society.but again and again i have been satisfied! there are also inaccuracies in this article,like what makes you think i can't choose or reject my marriage partner or divorce him,ever heard of "khula"? go look it up.plus have you ever heard of a midieval christian woman;being allowed to divorce her husband just because she did not like the way he looked;i doubt that! oh and for cripes' sake,the prophet's(s.a.w) first wife was an independent business women and the second was the most renowned scholar of her time(she even lead an army at one point);his(s.a.w)only living children were daughters who were loved,when they entered a room he would even stand up out of love and respect.such a long post,as i said i'm not a scholar but to say that islam allows double-facedness is simply hilarious,gentlemen this is the very religion which has an entire section on how heinous a crime that is since early muslims had to face such individuals and islam warns against lying to.. well..anyone!there are things i could go on and on about but i guess i'll end at this!(by the way i get only a part of my husband's property,a part of my father's property,plus it is incumbent upon my husband to support me and my children,i can work but he can never ask me to contribute to the family coffers unless i want to,he can have four wives but go find me a man who can equally share his time,his money,his attention on four women and i will show you the man who is actually allowed those four wives in islam,and finally he can have no hidden mistresses,how terrible is that :P )

You said "Islam is not what you imagine it to be." And then you said, "My family is not strictly conservative."

What we have here are two different things: One is Muslim people, who may or may not follow Islamic doctrine as it is written. The other is the doctrine itself. If your family was "strictly conservative" they would be following the doctrine itself. It is the doctrine we are discussing here. Not the people. People can do whatever they want.

You are a Muslim. Islam is the doctrine. As a Muslim, according to the doctrine, you are supposed to follow the doctrine to the letter. But on behalf of humanity, I am very glad you do not.

First, Khula is not as easy as Talaq. For Talaq, man has to just say it thrice. For Khula, it has to be approved by a committee of elders (who are obviously male). Next, when a woman gets a khula, she has to forego all her dower (which makes it impossible for a woman to get divorce if they are not employed and in Sharia countries women are not allowed to work). Actually, men who want divorce torture their wives in hope of making her get Khula so they dont have to pay her anything. Thus Khula is also actually against women!

Next, do you know that Muslims always say that Islam improved the rights of women and show example of Khadijah. I think this is so ironical. She was a arab woman and had so much right and had a successful business. There were poets, warriors, priestess. After islam took over, there was such a dearth for established women in Arabia.

The man has no need for hidden mistress. All his slaves are lawful to him. And it is not obligatory to share everything equally among all wives. Do you know that Prophet's favorite wife was Aisha and he spent most of his time wiht her. so, it is allowed to have favorites among the wives.

Islam only prohibits lying to another Muslim. There is lawful lying. Learn about Taqiya.

Learn well and dont go by the propaganda version of islam that is invented to appease liberal minded people. Go to the source or really good translations of the source.

Violence in islam is forbidden. To a muslim or to a non-muslim or any one with any other religon.And we dont just rage wars because we want to and crave for it. In islam the rule to solve difference is peace the exception is war. Am a muslim (and I have been a muslim my intire life ) the islam this guy is talking about is not what I follow.

As surpriseing as it is.Yes it is not, what u see on t.v is people who use islam to get there ways, which has no connection to our religion. If it was as violant as it is it wouldn't have survived all these years.And ur misunderstanding the ayat and giving no regard to the context at which the aya was given to mohammed.Like I said Zackrey Martel I have been a muslim my whole life those people use islam.And by the way the taking of one inocent life to us equal the taking of everyones life.It's in the quran, please look it up.

Yes it is, Zachery.See the context in which the verse were told, you will see that muslims were prosecuted and then were at a state of war. So when there is peace those ayat were not inforced.Read the quran. Not just the ayat the feed your paradigm about islam.islam is the constant People are the variables How u understand islam will effect your intractions with people. Like those terrorist that taken the same perspective you have in islam.They speak just like you, giving people there corrupted thoughts and paradigms about islam.BELIEVE ME THEY ARE WRONG.If it were what you were syaing, people would eventually fight it and it would had never spread and prosper for almost 1400 years.

I have read the Koran twice, and I recommend everyone read it. The leader of ISIS is an Islamic scholar. He probably knows far more about Islamic doctrine than you do. You are arguing to defend your religion, but you do not know your own religious teachings, and apparently are ignorant of Muhammad's example. He raped, he murdered, he kidnapped, and he tortured people. Wake up and leave that religion behind and find a better life.

Ahmed Ismail, You said: "And by the way the taking of one inocent life to us equal the taking of everyones life.It's in the quran, please look it up."

You do not relieve my scepticism when you quote this platitude including the word "innocent," since no infidel is innocent by the same texts. Why can't you guys speak out and say that The taking of any human life (unqualified) is wrong, period—by standards far more advanced than those in the days of your quote? Btw a text with much wisdom, like most old texts, but none is perfect throughout… or do you believe the Koran is perfect, the Words of God? (We Christians have more or less wrestled ourselves out of that discussion regarding the Bible; some may think so, some may not—it doesn't lessen Christian life.)

Obama always quotes :Qur'an 5:32-"who so slays a soul . . . shall be as if he had slain mankind altogether; and whoso gives life to a soul, shall be as if he has given life to mankind altogether"- attempting to demonstrate that the Qur'ran disapproved of violence and killing.

But leaves out the very next verse which offers quite a different meaning from that of 5:32,

Those that make war against Allah and His apostle [Muhammad] and spread disorder shall be put to death or crucified or have their hands and feet cut off on alternate sides, or be banished from the country. (Qur'an 5:33)"

Some Muslims would deny a lot of the above (and I do NOT just mean people using the Islamic doctrine of deception), but there is a lot of evidence that is supportive of article (as produced by Robert Spencer and others).

As someone who is not an scholar of Islam (I can not even read Arabic) I can not know for sure - but one thing I can know, if people call for such articles to be banned (as "Islamiphobic" or whatever) then that proves there is truth in claims of Islamic hostility to freedom.

The one thing about this issue that is good is that the doctrine we're talking about is easy to come by. The Quran is widely available, and it's not that long. So anyone can find out for themselves whether it's true or not.

I'm on a campaign. I hope to make it an international campaign. I want everybody to take the pledge and read the Quran. One version of the Quran takes out all the repetition and the book is only 203 pages long! Anyone can do that! And then all the wondering is over. You know for yourself what's true.

I am guilty of thinking that Islam was a religion shared by People of the Book---Jews and Christians, that Muslims respected Christians and Jews. Actually, I want to get beyond the politically correct language and say that I now think that Islam is a SHITTY religion especially if you are a woman.

Thanks for writing this. I found it because I was seeking to better understand the controversy regarding the ground zero mosque in NYC. The point about Muslims being forbidden to have non-Muslim friends irrevocably persuaded me that Islam should be "contained" not tolerated or respected. We don't treat lethal animals like housepets, and we shouldn't treat Islam like a civilized religion. On the other hand, an individual Muslim is more like a brainwashed person than an intentional wrong-doer. As a bonus, I now understand why the French banned burkas, and they are RIGHT!

If Islam is really an insidious diabolical just plain no-good religion, why can't we ban it in America? After all didn't we ban communism, make it a crime to be a communist? I haven't read all the articles out there but it looks like if we give in to the mosque, they will claim it as a symbolic victory and gradually get a stranglehold on America just like they are Islamizing Europe.

The main reason we won't ban Islam in America is that so many people who call themselves Muslims don't follow Islamic doctrine. From our perspective, they are Muslims in name only, and yet still ardently identify themselves as Muslims.

The closest thing to a real solution I have ever seen is Robert Spencer's proposal to legally separate the religious aspects of Islam from the political aspects.

I have been a reader of Robert Spencer and Pam Geller for several years now and learned enough to know how dangerous Islam is to the Western Culture. An Inquiry Into Islam fills in the details , It is getting more and more dangerous here as more ISLAMISTS are moved into our nation by the community load. What is depressing is the attitude that Christians take (turn the other cheek) and that does not confront the problem of this IDEOLOGY. In my mind I see that the only solution to this is completely taking out the things that feed into it. The USA taxes and aid -bombing the training camps, taking out all leaders- I see itas : THEM OR US! This is a continuation of WW2 with the NAZIS because Islam has used the Nazis to further their IDEOLOGY. NOW however it is worse -a gigantic scale of movement.

How many of you actually know a practising Muslim? All of you belong to an idea-collection of some sort filled with hate and given the chance violence. You seem to conveniently ignore that violence is part of human nature (look at all riots etc, football hooliganism etc). More Muslims are being verbally and physically attacked in the west and you guys label them (Muslims)as terrorists?? With Islam, as you have correctly identified - you have the most brilliant system ever! and all this thought up by an illiterate Noble man from the dessert - shame on all you intelligent people who cannot conceive of a better system; but can attempt to extract the perceived good but reject the fact it comes from Allah your Creator. Examine his claim to prophet-hood you owe it to yourself.

i have examined muhammed and his life, and will continue to do so. i also worked with a practicing muslim, and he was honest and hardworking. we even had some cool discussions about islam and christianity (i am a born-again christian, a type of fundamentalist christian).

that said, i did not realize at the time that muhammed had said that muslims were to befriend christians and jews if they had to do so, but not in their hearts. i did not know this guy outside of work, so there was no way for me to be able to get the little hints that make U suspect that all is not as it seems, and i'm socially inept to boot, so i have not way of knowing if he was practicing taqiyya or kitman.

now let's look at what fundamentalists of each religion do. a christian would sell everything he owns, give the proceeds to the poor, and begin proselytizing for jesus full-time (that's one place of many where i fall down as a christian). i suspect that those professing the fundamentalist versions of hinduism, buddhism, wicca, and several other religions would probably also make profound changes in their behavior. a muslim would do what muhammed did, since he is "the best of men." he would be kind to other muslims, lie to non-muslims when it benefits muslims, steal from non-muslims when it benefits muslims, kill non-muslims when it benefits muslims, rape non-muslim women when it benefits muslims, and "marry" 6-year-old girls (wait - i forgot that he waited until she was 9 to consummate the "marriage." sorry about that).

i wonder which type of fundamentalist most people of any non-muslim religion would rather have around?

The existence of a nice Muslim does not invalidate the statement that Islamic teachings advocate intolerance and violence toward non-Muslims. The fact that you know a Muslim who knows how to get along with non-Muslims does not mean he would not also advocate imposing Shari'a law on non-Muslims, and does not mean he is not actively striving toward that goal. The fact that he is really nice does not mean he repudiates the supremacist nature of Islamic teachings. The existence of a Muslim who happens to be charming does not discredit a single thing I've said.

And Muslims are being verbally and physically attacked? Only in the Muslim mind. It is Mohammad's tactic to create a pretext to "defend Islam." To do that, Muslims have to be "persecuted." Here is a breakdown of religious hate crimes:

Thanks for replying to my post about banning Islam. I like what Macarthur did to Shintoism. They should do the same here and curb Islam's political and other aspirations. But in an effort to understand Islam better, I want to mention what this guy Ajami said on the Bill Bennett show today. He said 57% of Arabs are against the NY mosque. He went on to say that most muslims in other countries recognize and appreciate America's greatness and that muslims here (Daisy Khan and the imam) are the ones that are activists. He also shared a story about how a caliph who was 2nd to the prophet went to Jerusalem to accept its surrender and went to the Christian patriarch's church and when it was time to pray, asked him where he could roll out his prayer mat. The patriarch said he could do it right there and the caliph said no because then the muslims would claim it as their holy ground and the patriarch would lose control of the church, so he went outside to pray. That doesn't seem like spitting on one's grave and building a victory mosque.

I also want to add that yesterday's attack on the NY cabbie was horrific, totally uncalled for. Oh and that muslim woman Ameena who is director of CAIR and is the lawyer for the Disney discrimination case - well, I don't agree with her but I think she's pretty!

Almost all, if not all, of these points also apply to Christianity. There most definitely are moderate Muslims, and the people behind the mosque proposed for 2 blocks from Ground Zero say a big part of their proposal is to give a face and presence to moderate Islam, as opposed to fundamentalist Islam. The Bible is filled with all kinds of stuff similarly: It's OK to stone adulterers, women should subjugate themselves to their husbands, Jesus is the only way, justification of holy wars (Remember the Crusades?), hellfire and brimstone, etc., etc. Just as so many (if not most) Christians do not take all these writings literally, all Muslims don't take their Islamic corrolaries literally. I find so much of these comments chilling, along with the atmosphere of anti-Muslim sentiment. (Note: I am not a Muslim!) Just as in Christianity, there are all shades of Islam. We know several very progressive, kind, loving, peaceful, enlightened Muslims who have nothing to do with the extreme fundamentalism which lay behind the 9/11 attacks.It's ironic that there were places and times where Christians, Jews and Muslims lived together peacefully; it's scarey that in this day and age it seems an ever-more-elusive goal.

U need to look at the bible again. jesus didn't say to stone anybody; he said for the person without sin to throw the first stone. everybody went away, because nobody wanted to be painted as the one who thought he was without sin. in the old testament, the israelites took over lots of cities and killed everybody in them, but they also cut deals with the people in other cities, even though they were told not to do so, and were then told by god that they had to honor their word. as i intimated in a previous post, a fundamentalist goes back to the earliest texts of his religion that he can find and tries to put it into practice in his own life. mother theresa did that in a big way using christianity, but so did al baghdaddi of IS. the fundamentist muslims of al qaeda and IS are not doing anything that muhammed himself did not do (except that the weapons are a lot worse than muhammed's weapons). which fundamentalist do U want living next door to U?

You wrote, "Almost all, if not all, of these points also apply to Christianity."

Thank you for asking questions worth answering. In answer to your first statement, almost none of these points apply to practiced Christian doctrine. I'm not a Christian or a Jew. I don't have any religion. But it is such a common response that people use (that the Bible has violence in it too), I ended up writing up a list of some of the important differences between Christianity and Islam. You can read it here: Why I'm Worried About Islam But Not Christianity.

Another aspect of this I think is important is the nature of the violent statements in the Old Testament versus the Quran. In the Old Testament, the verses are applied to very specific places, times, and people. In the Quran, the verses are open-ended and for all time, such as "slay them (non-Muslims) wherever you find them." Here's much more about that aspect.

You wrote, "There most definitely are moderate Muslims, and the people behind the mosque proposed for 2 blocks from Ground Zero say a big part of their proposal is to give a face and presence to moderate Islam, as opposed to fundamentalist Islam."

There are definitely heterodox Muslims who disregard some of the teachings of their own doctrine, but it is explicitly forbidden to do so in the Quran, their most holy book. To employ only part of their teachings is considered apostasy, the penalty for which is death. Yes, many Muslims in Western democracies get away with apostasy for now, if they don't live in one of the Muslim-only enclaves that have sprung up all over Europe, where such apostasy can be life-threatening.

The whole concept of "moderate Islam" is suspect. For the most part, Muslims who are not interested in violence are considered moderate. If they are still interested in pursuing Islam's prime directive to bring all people on earth under the domination of Islamic law, but are doing it by peaceful but stealthy means, Muslims are generally considered to be "moderate." They may not be committed to non-violence because they abhor violence, but because it is tactically foolish for the accomplishment of long-term plans (and this has been expressed explicitly in documents siezed at the Holy Land Foundation trial), but to me this is not comforting in the slightest. The largest Islamic organization in the world, the Muslim Brotherhood, has made it their goal to dislodge non-Muslims from power in Western democracies by stealthy (and non-violent) means, and they have been pursuing this in America for decades.

You wrote, "The Bible is filled with all kinds of stuff similarly: It's OK to stone adulterers, women should subjugate themselves to their husbands, Jesus is the only way, justification of holy wars (Remember the Crusades?), hellfire and brimstone, etc., etc. Just as so many (if not most) Christians do not take all these writings literally, all Muslims don't take their Islamic corrolaries literally."

I appreciate your desire to learn more, and I hope you read more. I know it must seem to you I am a "hater" or "Islamophobe" or something, but I have simply tried to learn more about Islam, and found out a lot that most people are unaware of. I agree that the information is not pleasant.

Yes, it's true, there are similar passages in the Old Testament. But when is the last time you heard of someone being stoned to death by Christians or Jews? But it still happens today in Muslim countries. This is because Mohammad apparently learned something about how to make a religion stick to its teachings by watching how Jews and Christians did it. So in the Quran and in Mohammad's statements preserved in the Hadith, rules were laid down about the penalty for not following the teachings. There have been many movements in the Islamic world to "modernize" Islam, but counter-movements also come along to "get back to the basics" because Islamic doctrine is very explicit about this. It is not vague. It is not being done merely because people think they should get back to the basics. Allah Himself and Mohammad himself said straying from the path cannot be allowed and needs to be harshly punished. As a result, Islam, as it is practiced throughout the world, more closely follows all of its teachings than either Christianity or Judaism.

About the Crusades: Islam had taken over most of the Middle East by force (it was largely Christian when Islam began), part of India, most of North Africa, and had invaded up into Europe, seizing Spain. Islamic warriors had come north into Europe as far as modern-day France before they were stopped. Four of the five major centers of Christianity had been overrun and subjugated to Islam. The only one left was Rome. The Europeans were independent countries, usually competing with each other rather than cooperating, but when the beseiged Christians in the Middle East begged Rome to help them, Rome decided that one of the things that might possibly unite Europeans was their shared religion, so he called for a Crusade, not to try to free all the Christians who had fallen under the domination of Islamic rule, but to simply make it safe for Christians to make their pilgrimages to the Levant.

Some time ago, as part of the stealth jihad, some Muslims set themselves up as "historical accuracy checkers" for school textbooks in America. They made what seemed like a perfectly reasonable suggestion: If Islam is going to be mentioned in school textbooks, it should be checked with Islamic historians for accuracy before being printed. But what they did was to scrub Islam's image clean, and to give the false impression that the Crusades were an unprovoked attack on poor, innocent Muslim countries who were living in peace and harmony. Your perception is very common. It has been orchestrated carefully and they've done their job well. The purpose was to make Americans unsuspecting of Islam, and distrustful and suspicious of their own cultural heritage, and it has worked to a remarkable extent.

You wrote, "I find so many of these comments chilling, along with the atmosphere of anti-Muslim sentiment. (Note: I am not a Muslim!) Just as in Christianity, there are all shades of Islam. We know several very progressive, kind, loving, peaceful, enlightened Muslims who have nothing to do with the extreme fundamentalism which lay behind the 9/11 attacks."

When you learn about Islam, when you read the Quran, I'm afraid you will be even more chilled. It is shocking and disturbing in a way you now can't imagine. I had exactly your point of view before I began learning about this. And when I heard "anti-Muslim" statements, I distrusted the source. But I would like to say in my defense that after learning that there are 245 verses in the Quran that say something positive about non-Muslims, but they have all been abrogated, and that there are 527 verses in the Quran that say something negative about non-Muslims, including 109 that call for violence against non-Muslims, and that none of them have been abrogated, that I definitely developed an anti-Islam sentiment. As a non-Muslim, I see nothing about this that I like.

About the fact that you know some peaceful, loving Muslims: I do too. Three of them are my friends. They are truly three of the nicest people I know. Not one of them has read the Quran. That's part of the issue. There are lot of Muslims whose only knowledge of Islam comes from their heterodox parents, who happen to be nice people and who ignore much of Islam's teachings.

But another issue is perhaps more important here. The existence of nice Muslims does not invalidate the statement that Islamic teachings advocate intolerance and violence toward non-Muslims. The fact that you know a Muslim who knows how to get along with non-Muslims does not mean he would not also advocate imposing Sharia law on non-Muslims, and does not mean he is not actively striving toward that goal. The fact that he is really nice does not mean he repudiates the supremacist nature of Islamic teachings. The existence of a Muslim who happens to be charming does not discredit a single thing written in this article.

You wrote, "It's ironic that there were places and times where Christians, Jews and Muslims lived together peacefully; it's scary that in this day and age it seems an ever-more-elusive goal."

When the Christians, Jews and Muslims lived together peacefully in Muslim-dominated countries, the Jews and Christians were subjugated second-class citizens. They were under the "dhimmi laws" where they paid the jizya (a tax for non-Muslims), where they couldn't hold any positions of authority over Muslims, where they were strictly limited in their ability to express their own religion, and where they were subject to occassional pogroms.

The reason living together peacefully seems an ever-more-elusive goal is that for the first time, non-Muslims are learning about Islam's political intentions before they were subjugated. Because of printing presses and the internet, and because of the large-scale attacks in New York, London and Madrid, which made many non-Muslims interested in learning more about Islam, more non-Muslims know about Islam than any time in history. Most subjugated non-Muslims in history had no idea what Islam was about until it was too late. It has often been illegal in Muslim countries for a non-Muslim to even touch a Quran, much less read it.

The Quran forbids pictures or statues of people for fear that others might revere that person. Today that sura is totally ignored. Mohammed drank mead which is a well known alcoholic beverage yet today muslims deny that mead is alcoholic and forbid the use of alcohol.

I would like to inform the author (Anonymnous said-dated 8-25-2010) who stated that Mohammad was an illiterate Noble man and insinuated Mohammad's thoughts came from Allah that the real authors of the Koran were several close friends of Mohammad who were very learned men (Salam, a Persian, Sergius Boheria, a Nestorian monk and others.) I sugest the author read The Life and Religion of Mohammed by J.L. Menezes.

Great article!Kudos.Just one point/historical fact needs to be addressed, as it is stated inaccurately in the article: "Christianity arose within the Roman Empire, for example. If Christianity had been a militant or political uprising, Rome would probably have killed or imprisoned the followers." Rome did kill and imprison the followers!

What we really need is for the adherents of ALL religions to rally together and go meet their makers by offing themselves in one gigantic spasm of religious lunacy, and then we who are left can get down to the business of creating a truly free and equal worldwide society built on the long-suppressed ideals of fairness and human compassion.

This essay, “What Makes Islam So Successful?”, is important because It identifies so many essential ingredients for instilling and spreading an ideology. I am not knowledgeable enough about Nazism or Communism to find the parallels in those ideologies, but I am sure from my casual exposure to them that most of them are true of those ideologies, too. In fact, taking Christianity as an example, many of the characteristics of Christianity were the same, including points 1, 2, 3, 12 (Greek or Latin), 19, 28 (in places). But evil ideologies come and go in the big scheme of things. I believe even Islam is doomed in the long run because of one glaring defect – the absence of brotherly love for ones neighbor.

Jesus taught “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and the most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ The whole Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets depend on those two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40) The Quran, on the other hand, teaches Muslims to be ruthless to the unbelievers but merciful to one another. (Surah 48:29) So, which of the elements of the Islamic ideology you listed make Islam distinct in its lack of brotherly love? 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 14, 15, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26.

Islam’s hostility to the “other” is the root cause of the backwardness and misery we see even today in the Islamic world. Women are treated as second class citizens, minority governments in Bahrain and Syria exploit the majority, Muslims in Egypt and Nigeria attack Christians month in and month out, Sunnis and Shiites are at odds just about everywhere, and Israel is the tar-baby of the Middle East. All of this hostility against the “other” only prevents the full enjoyment of the social and economic opportunities in the region because resources are wasted on sustaining that hostility rather than developing the infrastructure. The prevailing theme in the Islamic ideology (the Quran and Sharia Law) sustains and elevates this “us vs. them” perspective. The world is divided between Dar al Islam and Dar al Harab, women’s rights are limited, even among Muslims some are considered as confederates (Al-Ahzab) and hypocrites (Al-Munafiqun) – who were discussed in full chapters in the Quran --, and Jews are seen as less than human.

Yes, non-Muslims should become educated about the Islamic ideology and use every opportunity to help others understand the dangers of that militant cult. But taking positive steps is also important. We need to engage Muslims themselves and show them the defects of their ideology. That’s why I share Samy Tanagho’s book, “Glad News! God Loves You My Muslim Friend” with Muslims whenever I get the chance. That’s why I write Muslim columnists and leaders to gently point out their misconceptions, their dissimulation (taqiyya), and their lying by omission (kitman). The world-wide spread of Islam was fostered by non-Muslim acquiescence and reluctance to challenge their ideology. Today, with almost universal Internet access, the reach of the truth is unlimited and very powerful. The Arab Spring in the Middle East and North Africa is fundamentally due to the realization by people in those regions that their ideology has left them in the backwaters of civilization. They are desperate to escape, and we can help them by providing the information and encouragement that will strengthen their resolve.

This article is very objective and substantiated by facts, I only wish it could reach more people. It will help start dialogs on Islam and eventually probably lead to modernizing the Koran without it being considered a sin. Of late people defend (or condemn) Islam without understanding anything about it.

In Iran there are plenty of people who are "casual Muslims" - they put on an act in public, and, when in their own homes, bring out the alcohol and party. Read Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis. She grows disillusioned with post-revolution Iran and leaves for France

And if they are caught partying, the penalty can be severe. Their defiance of Islamic doctrine is risky and people don't have the luxury of being carefree or cavalier about their lack of commitment to Islam. In an Islamic state, these risks are not taken casually. The defiance is deliberate.

I'm contrasting this with a free country where people can call themselves Buddhists without practicing any of the precepts or reading any Sutras or even meditating. They can be completely casual about their participation in whatever religion they choose.

the problem is... most muslim don't practice islam anymore. in my country, we dont even know anything about jihad before 9/11. we pray like we read a mantra, without knowing what it means. we are not arabic. so read quran is like read a magic book that we dont know the meaning. yet we are the biggest islam comunity in this world. but dony get excited, after 9/11 everything change. people turn to radical arab. no more peace, no more "mantra" reading quran. only niqab and burqa that i never seen in my life before 9/11. we lost our asian culture combined with islam. only islam left, the asian gone....

As far as I am concerned, NOBODY needs or should need- ANY religion to get along. Islam is just a set of beliefs or make-believe "based" on a rumor ( based on hallucinations, dreams, visions and fairy tales) and designed to structure (=control) all area of life here and above (with the ludicrous 1000000000000000++++ virgins or whatever teaser)Christianity did the same, except that the Pope did not quite manage to "rule the city" (control the politics) although the Vatican remains powerful, no wonder all the eobbies and maffias want to infiltrate it.... And didn't those brave Popes send pillaging hords of starving "pilgrams" (the scum of countries where they sure were doomed to death sooner than later) to bring that beautiful Message of Love all the way to Jerusalem ???? What really strikes me in the Coran is the ABSENCE of any REAL spiritual dimension...

Sorry i just see how Robert Spencer's solution or part solution could work. Sure it might iron over the cracks for a while but thats about it. Whats to stop them just ignoring all that once at 50-60% of the population or more? Unlikely in the US granted because of your leaking borders, but not Europe.

Muslim populations in the West are doubling roughly every 10 years, im sure we've all seen the projections. Allow Turkey into the EU and look out, it'll all be on fast forward.

I mention Europe because without them the US are alone. Actually even say 20-30% of the voting public, how will US support look then? The West will be divided from within!

Education is definitely the biggest part atm, without the will of the people we have nothing, we need to vote in the right parties. If we dont, it will lead to civil war imo, and how well can a country at war with itself defend itself?

Ive thought about this a fair bit, unless we're prepared to accept civil war then we just have adopt Geert Wilders solution, ban or limit immigration with the goal of keeping its numbers down. With the numbers its political side is harmless. Stop building more mosques and give no ground at all to the creeping sharia.

Yes that goes against many peoples liberal beliefs, but sometimes survival is more important. Besides, surely we have a right who we invite into our countries. If people support ideologies that are counter to our own and seek to destroy us, make our kids second class citizens ect - then sorry, bad luck.

I'm Muslim and yes, Islam is the greatest religion, we have the trump card of them all... God... this is God's religion... this article contains a lot of half-truths, but I'm amused to see you guys wetting in your pants.... lolz

I'm not wetting my pants. I'm educating myself, the better to oppose you. I know you Muslims can't be reasoned with, only defeated... and I intend to get that message out to as many of my fellow Americans as I can.You don't scare me... you disgust me. You are a bunch of useless, backward, collectivist savages and if I die opposing you, so be it. If I can see the truth about you, so can other Americans... because I'm not special in any way!P.S. "Half-truths"... taqiyya in action! I trust anything a Muslim says, like I trust a rabid dog.

The Islamic world universally is in crisis: corrupt, dysfunctional, lacking freedom, order with many poor, ignorant and destitute. Islamic society while having made contributions to humanity in the past, have contributed very little in the past few centuries. Despite dominating (because of Islam's domination of these countries - they are in free fall. And as their descent becomes more obvious - Islam becomes more violent and reactionary. Iranian friends tell me 85% of Iran has no respect or belief in Islam. Islam is actually very fragile (hence it is afraid of religious freedom).

domination? do you mean... how islam told us how to pee in the toilet the right way (Muhammad style), drink and eat (Muhammad style), having sex (in what style do Muhammad like, so no anal because he hated anal), take a bath, picking up your snot in your nose, how to sleep the right way, etc

so... yes it is domination. and i think this is the reason why muslim said islam the best religion. no religion teach you how to picking up you snot. so cool! and what about people who doesnt know how to bath? Islam teach you. this is the coolest religion because it teach idiot how to do things that they never know how to. it even teach you how to wipe your ass after poo poo. cool, you know.... ;)

Islam is total. To be Muslim or Not. No Choice. To be right or false. To be light or dark. No between that, because it's mean MUnafiq. Islam do not accept with munafiq people. I love Islam. I love God of Islam because HE have DECISIVE RULES.

You "love" Islam because you're a dumb, childlike SHEEP who doesn't want to take responsibility for making your own choices in life. You want to be told what to do instead.Islam... a religion for weak, dependent, inferior people!

All religions to me are man made nonsense. I can't believe some idiotic events that happened in the barbaric middle ages managed to stupify some peasants into the 3 monotheisms known today and judaism/christianity/islam.

Both islam and Christianity are guilty of spreading the religion by violence. early roman christians burned/killed everything that go in there way. Christians were as bad as the talibans, its only recently they have had to give so much up because of science.

To this day people still believe in these ridiculous death cults taking on faith Zombies and talking snakes.

I completely deny the supernatural dimension. Its a man made concept that does not EXIST.

That is ok. I respect atheists, but whom I do not respect are religious fanatics of any religion esp of Islam. However, I can respect people who believe in God but not their being religious- being religious means being political. I also do not like when they talk about god if it is not a subject of conversation because I think that someone's faith is a personal thing and I am not interested in hearing it. That is my own personal thinking and how I think.

IReligion was a good attempt to explain things in the prescientifc age. I mean you have to have some explanatlon of why thing shappen. So I guess spirits were like the energy and forces we have today. Gravity; electromagnatism etc.

Something is causing earthquakes and lightning and my young sons death. "There's a reason this is happening to me. Did I offend the gods". They must have thought...

Islam, Judaism, Christianity...old stories to control frightened sheep.There are no gods or allahs or any of it. More and more people on the planet are finally getting this memo. We'll see if it happens quickly enough to save mankind. If not, the planet will be fine without us.

"Say (O Muhammad), 'Verily, my prayer, my sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of the Aalameen. He has no partners, and of this I have been commanded, and I am the first of the Muslims.'" (Al-An'aam 162: 163).

This is actually the meaning of the kalimah from which the Quraysh idolaters fled. The Prophet called all people to this concept; a religion that elevates man to highest ranks and which can make him have eternal happiness. Only a few weak people responded to his call and they were severely persecuted by the unbelievers. The Prophet saws himself was faced by three sets of people: the envious ones, arrogant people who knew the truth, and yet denied it; and the misled ignorant ones. These people exerted all their effort to stop the spread of Islam.

"They intend to put out the light of Allah with their mouths. But Allah will complete His light even though the disbelievers hate (it)." (As-Saff 61: 8)

They must be stopped just like the Nazis with full force. The bleeding heart liberal will be our downfall if we do not take action. The united states was founded on the principle that we would offer peace but if it was not accepted we would protect ourselves . Most Americans do not realize that the eagle that represents our nation carries in its talons Olive branches which are a symbol of peace and arrows which mean war. It was made this way to remind us of who we are but also that we must protect ourselves . I guess young people are to wrapped up with Beyoncé and Bieber to care about what are nation was founded on and the news media gives us people like Sarah Palin who doesn't know her ass from a hole in the ground .

This is a fine summary that comes in handy for many who feel the need to educate themselves about this destructive ideology.

However, the jiziya is not "usually a 25% income tax", but more like a hostage takers ransom. It is not fixed; it is not a percentage, and it is not based on income. It is designed to impoverish the infidel; to expropriate his wealth. And if he has nothing left, the kafir will have his children taken from him, the girls as sex-slaves and the boys as janissaries, as forcibly converted soldiers for allah in wars against other infidels.

I am here with the glad tiding for you for spreading hate speech against Islam & Muslims, for polluting innocent non-Muslim minds against Muslims, for twisting the truth about Qur’an and Islam, for trying to modify and corrupt God’s word - Al-Qur’an by changing it’s original order, by deleting verses and passages to suit your agendas, and for spreading mischief on God’s land - the Earth - that was created by Him of us. Your articles and simple display of height of your Islamophobia: sickness of minds and hearts has no limits, people like you will rot in hell - no doubt, but wait! that's not all! although this is no TV shopping channel, but I am glad to give you glad tidings that there's more than just the rotting in hell bit - there is curse on you of entire 1.9 billion Muslims of this planet, and of billions of angels above earth and as a result of our curse upon you, people like you will have a pathetic life in this world and a horrible ending where you will have Hidradenitis Suppurativa under your arms that will make you everyday life hell, and you will suffer from Fecaluria and fecal vomiting, whereas on your hands you will have Fulminant Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) that will make people shudder upon your condition, whereas on your face you will get Cancrum Oris that will make you an example for those making mockery of God and His Messenger(s), and because your brains are working against God, He will send Echinococcosis into your brains and the torment will never end till you die and believe me you would beg to die everyday but God will increase your torment by keeping you alive for longer until He sends Ascariasis as a further reward for your disobedience and mischievousness, adding Epidermodysplasia Verruciformis to your most miserable states, while you gradually move towards throat cancer where cancer hangs out of your throats like branches of a tree where nurses have to apply powdered medication to stop it from bleeding and growing - and u will ultimately die by 'Brain eating Amoeba' (Naegleria fowleri) or by 'Mad cow' disease - inshAllah this curse will happen to you!

What about all the hate speech in the Quran against anyone who is a non-muslim? The fact that you devote your whole lives promoting this supremacist attitude, in other words that what you believe is right and what everyone else believes is wrong is what others cannot stand. I don't think a loving God would want it that way.

Anonymous Muslim, Thanks a lot for the disease you cursed upon me.It's incurable and highly contagious. It's brainborne not airborne so has the potential to become a Global Pandemic quickly.Since it's a new disease I'm calling it:Infidelitis aka Kuffar Disease.May you ALL catch it.

1.9 million?oh please... dont count us in your agenda. we just borrow islam on our ID card because government force us. it should be half of it. maybe 800million muslim. not us. its not our fault to be muslim and trapped in this. we know nothing. its just your curse not us. bye crazy muslim radical. may Allah burn you as well. so maybe you can rot together with people you cursed

Islam is one and the same one text: the Koran, One prophet the seal, Muslims are all equal in the eye of Allah. There is no moderate, no fundamentalist, no terrorists: There are interpretations on political ground.Vicious attacks on islam have proved in the decades and centuries futile. It has made it stronger and survived: now nearly 2 billion in population across the world.

One man's religion is between him and his creator. There are thousands of religions. That makes the world interesting like colours and flowers. It is never boring.some of you are only sad and frustrated that islam is coming back in politics.The middle east map is changing, and Dar Al islam is bound to rise.your threats are immaterial. Neither bombs of planes or forces of human eandevour will stop the call of history. We will prevail, in the Middle East in Africa and Asia. It is ordained by Him, the almighty who hold the sky less it falls on all of us.Islam is a religion of peace. But if you hit or insult a muslim, many hands will hit you back.Wo woo to you who is ignorant, arrogant, and love life!

oh really?then why did your brotherhood claim we are fake muslim. you dare calling the biggest muslim comunity in the world as lost and fake muslim?you i think we dont know how your religion racism, claim that we are asian not real muslim??are we dumb?you make us slave in your country, promise us job but then you make us slave (lie) then you return the dead body. how come you said all muslim are the same if you treat us like a slave? how many our people you killed just because slavery is okay in quran?you think i'm dumb?fuck you arabia, about time we marching to your country for treating us like a shit asian muslim and killed us because we are asian, meant to be slave. keep on lie, i know the truth. you can lie to this people but not us. we KNOW. WE KNOW THAT MUSLIM ARE NOT THE SAME IF YOU ARE NOT ARAB THEN YOU ARE SLAVE. THE ONLY COUNTRY AND RELIGION THAT STILL PRACTICING SLAVERY. THANK YOU

I am a muslim. Not moderate as they say, not fundamentalist. strife is bound to happen when arrogant, misguided and immoral followers of greed and deception take over the world. Islam is peace and order. your mischief has been unveiled. Watch out. The Islamic state khaliphate is building momentum. The new drawing of the map of the world, including the middle east, Africa and Asia, the domain of Dar Asslam. The house of peace. Where the people do not have to give in to Politicians and Corporations to suck your blood as it is doing is the west.We know there are enemies of islam. But we will prevail by the will of God over you all and you will have to pay the tax jizya if you want to be protected or stay depressed in the North of Europe and America.

let's see here ... if U come to the united states, U are supposed to get the same treatment as everybody else. if i go to live in a muslim country, if i'm not killed for being non-muslim, i get to pay a huge tax that muslims don't have to pay, and oh, BTW, if the caliph decides that it's convenient because it benefits muslims, he can come enslave my sons, rape my wife (and my little 9-year-old girl), and then kill me (best order, because i suffer most that way). golly, islam is just a bundle of laughs.

this isn't a religion, it's an evil cult. when U eventually get to our shores and search me out to kill me, remember that i forgive U for killing me. but first, i'm going to be defending myself and my neighbors, and i'm spreading the word before then in hopes that they don't get fooled by your taqiyya. i pray that the Lord opens your eyes to the truth before it's too late for U.

OH yes! We see the "peace" you refer to all over the middle east and N Africa, quite apart from the "peace" your barbarians bring to the West. And Philippines, Thailand, India, Pakistan Afghanistan... no point going on, your "peace" is breaking out in almost every country!

Elaboration on Muslim prayer (Point 13): Mohammed was a genius. Muslims adopt the fetal position, face down, when praying. This is, naturally enough, the most comforting and reassuring position one can adopt - simulating being in the womb. Five times a day! What more brilliant way to promote Islamic belief can you think of?

Very good overall. Unfortunately, non-Muslims have been telling the truth about Islam for CENTURIES, with limited results. People ignore the evidence and believe whatever is convenient. At present, it is simply inconvenient to acknowledge that Islam is a threat to the world. If this ideology really were dangerous, then responsible non-Muslim governments and agencies would be forced to do something about it. How messy and unpleasant! How politically incorrect! Why not just stick your head in the sand instead?

Fortunately the times they are achangin'. The advent of mass literacy, instantaneous mass communication and the internet make it increasingly difficult for Muslim leaders to lie about their creed and get away with it. Plus, as Muslims themselves become aware of what this "religion" actually teaches, they are leaving it by the millions. This attrition will only get worse as more come to the truth. Also, when non-Muslims educate themselves about the real Islam, they reject the lies of the apologists and start telling the unvarnished truth, like the author does in this article. The end result spells doom for Islam. I predict that, by the final years of this century, Islam will be heading for the kitchen midden of history. Lies can't last forever. Unfortunately for the rest of the world, the death throes of Islam are likely to cause a great deal of grief and destruction across the globe. Hang on to your seats.

BTW, have you noticed how strident, illogical and generally pathetic are the "arguments" the Muslim writers here present in defense of their indefensible faith? Critics are threatened with Hellfire. Then there is the red herring tactic - pointing out that the Bible and/or Christianity are equally violent, even though this argument has been shown to be fallacious on several fronts, not to mention moot. (1. The Bible does NOT advocate open-ended violence against non-believers; quite the contrary. The stranger is to be treated fairly and loved. 2. Christians do not wander the world killing people while shouting "Christ is great", and would be violating Christ's teachings if they did so. 3. Finding fault with another ideology in no way exonerates Islam of its crimes.) Last, Muslims present tedious variations on the theme of: Islam-is-true-because-Muhammad-said-so-and-Muhammad-is-the-final-prophet-of-God-because-the-Qur'an-says-so-and-the-Qur'an-is-straight-from-God-because-Muhammad-says-so. Really lame.

Well expressed AND 100% correct. Devout muslims cannot present a cogent argument because their indoctrinated brains are incapable of 1. Rational thought and logic & 2. Anger & hatred over-riding discussion. Threats of death are their final 'defence'.

a Rabbi is defending Islam and says worshiping moon, rock in Islam is False! please watch & share https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LNq6nWvDsA a SHORT ILLUSTRATION ON SHIRK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrvsrBFvgPY

as a former light infantry counter insurgency I have spent most of my time on research an posting on twitter. awareness , study by know your enemy an now I want to take more action. I must take my mission to a higher level. take the fight to jihads with alacrity

Three things stand out:1) No other religion has a list. Only Islam - "The Religion of Peace".2) This Wikipedia article starts with: "This is a dynamic list and may never be able to..." Unfortunately it is too dynamic and that trend is accelerating.3) It is a HUGE list.

I think one major reason for Islam's success is missing. i.e destroying other religions ideas, books, centers of learning, places of worship. As an Indian, I can say this because the indic religions were crippled much by islam . In an Islamic society the religious non muslims suffer most. For example Pakistan's hindus whoever has left, have little knowledge of Hinduism. They are fed with distorted information on hinduism

Who is authority to enforce the changes and bring order into human beings, societies, nations and creating a central authority ? Mohammed claimed his authority, no debate but after he left the body,did he authorize any body or created a democratic circle to implement the goodness and well-being of the masses, to distinguish the corrupt,unworthy leaders to lead the governments ?Every other corners in muslim world claims to be proclaimer of Allah whereas the truth is that they are worst than animals, just sub human. Violence is their legacy and terror is their achievement.

are you serious?is this how you talk about a religion ? would you like me to talk about a religion this way? well i guess i would not because islam tells me "Whoever is not your brother in religion, is your brother in humanity" - Imam Ali bin Abi Talib.you crossed your limits, you gave the most unrealistic and fake description of Islam, i barely read a true sentence, please leave this peaceful religion alone and do not describe the religion if you are not one yourself, or educated

Yes, I would like you to talk about a religion, any religion or ideology honestly. I would like us all to be honest about all religions and political ideologies. I have read the Koran twice, from cover to cover, as well as the commentary. You barely read a true sentence? You must be highly uneducated about the doctrines of your own faith. Read the Koran and the a hadith and come back and tell me what we've gotten wrong here. You will find that the answer is: Absolutely nothing.

I do have a question for muslim believers after reading all this, and I DO NOT INTEND TO OFFEND YOU in any way: Let's think hypothetically that Islam finally is all over the earth, the only religion, and every living person follows Sharia law, so the ultimate goal is achieved. By the Quran, only then will be peace on earth, yes? So, if there aren't any more wars and conflicts on earth, how can muslim men be sure for the passage to Paradise? Considering that Quran said that true muslim believer men might entry, but are not guaranteed the entry to Paradise

The answer to your question "why is Islam so successful" is actually very simple, much simpler than writing 28 points. It is the most logical religion out there, that's all.

People read the Quran and instantly realize that this is the truth, it makes sense, causing multiple conversions to it and ending up being the fastest growing religion on Earth. There are, however, those that are filled with pride and not only reject the truth, but moreover attack it.

Obviously, those who objectively read the Quran for assessment will also realize that the author of this article was biased and inserted lies amidst some truths. This same habit is what caused the distortion of Judaism and Christianity, shame on you.

If anyone is interested in the logical arguments presented in the Quran, read my book:

LOGICAL?? Your understanding of logic is as corrupt as the koran. What 'logic' says the sun sets on Earth? That fresh & salt waters cannot mix, by Allah's 'inviolate barrier'? That a fly has disease on one wing & the cure on the other? That water can never be polluted & is safe to drink? That camel urine can be drunk as a cure? That Muhammad flew to heaven on the Buraq & retruned the same night? ON & ON & ON & ON it goes. Idiocy.

As an ex-Muslim, this is true on so many levels! We need to end this hate by showing compassion to one another and welcoming people into the peace they so urgently need. The way they treat their women is barbaric, and once we show them equality, they would be in awe. We need to stop killing animals, treating women as an inferior race, and most importantly, show love and kindness to win this war. It is the way Jesus would have us do everything; that is, with love.

Every religion I am aware of has a goal of improving it's followers quality of life, afterlife and requires a code of ethics to be followed that may not do anything to negatively influence the lives of those in power above you.

Islam is alone in in its drive to keep all it's adherents trapped in 13th century life styles. It demands that anyone attempting to better themselves beyond that level to killed in the most barbaric manner, either publicly stoning or beheading.

Look at what happened to Iran when the Shaw was overthrown. It went from a fairly modern country with most conveniences found in any American city. Today the entire country is a cesspool of Islamic lunacy. Clothing for women is one dimensional, made to remove any reference to the sex of the woman. They have no value in that society now and if they make any problem for a man, they can just be killed to teach them a lesson. What about teenage girls? Those who survive live lives in fear. Technology is one of the first thing destroyed to prevent western contamination.

Be careful what you ask for. The life you choose may be much harsher than anything you've ever imagined.